Renouncing the life of crime spectacularly documented in the first two instalments for a more peaceful, rewarding existence, charismatic protagonist Kazuma Kiryu moves to Okinawa to run an orphanage. From where, inevitably, following video-gaming's penchant for bloodshed over babysitting, it's not long before he's dragged back to Tokyo to sort out rifts in the clan he left behind. Yet if Yakuza 3's story covers well-trodden ground, it's about the only part of the game that feels conventional.

Newcomers to the Yakuza series are catered for in lengthy recaps of the first two games at the outset, though anyone expecting a Japanese Grand Theft Auto will likely be disappointed at the size of the sandbox. Similarly, those spoiled by the fluid combat sequences of God of War III or Batman: Arkham Asylum will bristle at the loose brawls, which can initially feel awkward.

But that's because Yakuza 3 does things very much its own way. It is steeped so utterly in Japanese culture that it's impossible to come away without a little more knowledge of the place. The action is broken up by an astonishing wealth of distractions, from crane-grabbing arcade games and gambling dens to golf and fishing interludes. And the skull-crackingly brutal fights provide improvisation as well as spectacle: smashing a bicycle over someone's head has never felt so spontaneous, nor, oddly, so satisfying. By turns dark, hilarious and moving, Yakuza 3's richness and eye for detail overcome its technical limitations. On its own terms, it's something of a flawed masterpiece.